Relationships that are ‘connecting’ and allow for collaboration, appear
to offer children a wealth of interpersonal closeness that supports
the development of many domains, including social,
emotional, and cognitive functioning.
(neuroscientist) Daniel J. Siegel, 2001

Parents andprofessionalsin Australia have the same stories to tell about the Parenting by Connection Program delivered by Community Transformations.

Recent studiesreveal that parent-child connectedness is the single strongest indicator that an adolescent will reach adulthood without experiencing teen pregnancy or violence, without becoming addicted to drugs or tobacco, and without dropping out of high school - and that the Parenting by Connection approach is one of only a few programs that achieves this parent-child connectedness.

Universally, though, there is disregard for the work of parenting. This disregard affects every parent regardless of income, and every child and, ultimately, the health and well-being of our whole society. It is not possible to avoid the difficulties and obstacles that result from the disregard for parenting work.

"If we are to transform society into one that functions to its human potential - sharing, co-operative, caring, courageous, just and joyful - then, we must empower and enable parents to connect deeply with their children".

Ann Hefferan, Founder, Community Transformations

Your donation would make a power of difference.

Our goals are to:

Reach out to low income individual mums and dads and couples, as well as to socially and economically disadvantaged communities with our Parenting Courses and with our Master Class / Instructor Certification Program (our year-long, comprehensive Leadership Program) by providing partial or full scholarships.

Purchase local and virtual assistants, so that we can set up, and maintain, the systems we need for marketing our products, fundraising and engaging with donors. Our aim is to provide "sales funnels" to Certified Parenting by Connection Instructors who work co operatively with us. In this way, we can spread the costs of marketing, at the same time, supporting their individual enterprises in taking this approach to other parents.

In essence, an local and virtual assistants would enable us to be the 'mother ship' to the people we've trained, and to reach more parents.

(Such costs are are not fully factored into our fees. Why not? Because we keep fees as low as possible in order to keep our programs as accessible to as many parents as possible).

You can donate securely through GiveNow

which is administered by

Is giving to a community organisation the same as giving to a charity?

We use the term ‘community organisation’ or ‘community group’ to describe any not-for-profit organisation operating in Australia. This includes traditional charities such as the Red Cross and Oxfam but also other not-for-profit organisations that are also doing good work for no material gain; groups like schools, kindergartens, sporting and arts groups. We believe all of these organisations are equally deserving of financial support.

Is my donation tax deductible?

Not-for-profit status does not automatically qualify an organisation for tax deductibility status. Donations to a not-for-profit or community organisation are only tax deductible when:

An organisation is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) by the Australian Taxation Office. The status of an organisation can be checked on the Australian Business Register at www.abr.business.gov.au and is also indicated for each organisation listed on the GiveNow website;

The donation is greater than $2; and

An authorised receipt has been received. All receipts for donations made online to Deductible Gift Recipients using the GiveNow service will meet the requirements.

Only around 28,000 of the more than 700,000 community organisations operating in Australia have been endorsed as DGRs. We believe they are all potentially worthy of your donation, though only a fraction can offer you a tax donation.

Community Transformations Inc is one of the approximately 672,000 Not for Profits that do not have DGR status. In other countries, such as the USA, tax deductiblity for donations is automatically conferred along with the not for profit status Australia's legislation in this area was laid down centuries ago.

We know what our work is worth, however. We know that we deliver a unique program that provides perspective and parenting tools and parent community that are not offered through any other program. Our passion is greater than the barrier presented by the eligibility criteria for the DGR, and greater than the many other challenges that we've faced in reaching parents with our transformative approach. We hope you won't let it be a barrier to considering a donation.

Community Benefit SA who provided funding to us for 7 years also recognised our worth. The excerpt below is from the:

Executive Summary of Evaluation on the Sustainability of the Parenting by Connection Program for Community Benefit SA

Loretta Geuenich, Research Officer, Flinders Institute of Public Policy and Management, School of Politics and International Studies, Flinders University.

(Loretta Geuenich and Prof Jo Baulderstone

conduct the evaluations of the FACHSIA-funded Communities for Children Project in the south of Adelaide.)

"The Parenting by Connection program recognises that parenting is a complex task that continues to challenge parents for in excess of 20 years. The program has shown the importance of supporting parents through an approach that:

Encourages parents to develop on an ongoing basis their own parenting wisdom through implementation and ongoing appropriation of the Parenting by Connection ‘Listening to Children’ tools;

Offers the possibility of deep and lasting change to parent-child relationships and attachment, as well as increased connection with partners and in other relationships in general. This is supported by well-trained and qualified leaders and instructors who have undertaken both theoretical and practical training in the approach;

Offers the possibility of ongoing support and development given that engagement with parenting occurs for around 20+ years; and

Develops community-based, peer support, and leadership through building a movement of parents who help build community capacity through their own increasing parenting expertise and sense of belonging.

The program has supported a range of positive outcomes for parents, children, and families as a whole including partners and with extended family members. Additional outcomes were reported in the areas of social networks and in the workplace. Changes were observed and reported included:

Increased connection and attachment;

positive behaviour changes

stronger and more open relationships;

increased confidence and esteem;

increased capacity for working with emotions and complexity;

decreased stress, anxiety and isolation;

enhanced problem solving and life management capacity;

families more relaxed and able to enjoy each other;

a sense of community with other local parents; and

a sense of greater wellbeing.

In addition the program appears to have supported the building of community capacity through increased parenting expertise, stronger social networks and ties, and the development of local community-based parent leadership.

Parenting by Connection articulates well with a wide range of local and national policy frameworks and responds to global calls for early intervention and prevention approaches to child protection and community safety (Parkinson 2011; and Allen 2011).

However, the challenge for programs like Parenting by Connection is securing longer-term funding which will allow it to expand its base, thereby supporting more families and opening up more leadership pathways which will enable greater sustainability of both learning and supports for families in need."

Invest in the future - donate to the

Project

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